80 residents of Belmont care facility sickened

Published 10:31 am, Monday, December 11, 2006

2006-12-11 11:31:34 PST -- About 80 residents of an independent care facility for the elderly became sick with norovirus last week, prompting public health officials to quarantine Bonnie Brae Terrace in Belmont.

Four people have been hospitalized with the virus, which causes vomiting, diarrhea and nausea, since the San Mateo County Public Health Department became aware of the outbreak on Wednesday, said agency spokeswoman Beverly Thames. Two of the people were sent to the emergency room to be rehydrated and were released, she said, while two others are still being treated.

The remaining residents have been quarantined and treated at Bonnie Brae Terrace, located on Carlmont Drive.

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A few staff members also became ill in the outbreak, Thames said, but the majority of the sick were residents of the 164-unit home.

Public health officials are now interviewing residents to see if any of their friends, coworkers or family members have been ill recently, and could have caused the outbreak.

"We will follow up with them to get more information -- we really don't want it to spread in the community," said Thames. "If someone who works in food service or child care and they have been sick, we need to make sure they stay home for three days."

Thames said health officials first heard there were some sick residents last Tuesday, and sent a disease control and prevention team to the facility the next day. The officials made "prevention control recommendations," said Thames, such as posting signs, informing residents about the virus and making hand sanitizer more readily available.

"By Thursday there were more cases and on Friday, a health officer issued an order that restricted visitors from entering the facility and residents from leaving, except in emergencies," she said, adding that they also shut down the cafeteria and canceled all social activities at Bonnie Brae Terrace. "Public health nurses have been there since Friday, checking all the residents, seeing who's sick, who is well, bringing prescriptions and arranging for care if it's necessary."

Since the facility is an independent living facility, not a nursing home, they do not have a medical staff on site, Thames said.

The incubation for norovirus is usually between 24 and 48 hours, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. Thames said protocol dictates that the restrictions at the care facility can be lifted 72 hours after the last reported case.

"For a healthy individual, they probably will get over it within one or two days," she said. "For the young and old it can be more serious. Dehydration is the main concern -- you can't take in enough fluids."